Students stop car misuse

Kohima, April 24: The Angami Students’ Union has taken up the task of checking misuse of government vehicles after the state government had failed to do so.

The students’ union said it would not allow government vehicles to be misused by officials except for government duties.

Volunteers of the union were seen frisking government vehicles in Kohima town during the rush hours in the morning today.

Several government vehicles were detained by the volunteers for ferry students to schools, including that of a top cabinet minister.

The union’s president, Voto Niekha, said officials were using government vehicles for personal matters like sending their children to school in them.

Niekha said the union would not allow the misuse of government vehicles in Kohima district and that frisking of vehicles would continue. “Even the state government has extended support to us,” he said.

He said not only were government vehicles being misused, it was costing the state’s exchequer a huge sum to buy and maintain the cars for the officials.

Several student organisations had come out against the misuse of vehicles by officials, sometimes even for anti-social activities and had urged the government to check the menace. On several occasions, government vehicles were caught transporting banned substances and liquors. Recently, the state government had issued a notice banning the purchase of expensive cars and vehicles for officials.

Even the junior officials in the state department owned Boleros and Scorpios, as possessing expensive cars and vehicles has become a status symbol for government employees in Nagaland.